The life and career rise of Danica Patrick, the most successful woman in the history of racing

Danica Patrick is one of the most recognizable women in sports: she had a successful racing career, both in IndyCar and NASCAR, and her sponsorship with GoDaddy helped her become a household name. 

Working in a male-dominated field like racing, Patrick struggled for acceptance. But she now holds multiple records, like becoming the first and only woman to win an IndyCar race. 

Now, Patrick will be speaking at Business Insider's Ignition conference in early December. As a former racer and current entrepreneur, she'll likely have plenty to talk about. 

Here's a look at Patrick's life and career up to this point:

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Patrick got an early start with racing: she began go-karting at the age of 10. During her first drive, she crashed into a wall at 20 mph and caught her jacket on fire.

She wasn't scared away from the sport, however, and she continued to go-kart throughout her teenage years. She set a track record during her first year, and won multiple titles soon after beginning her racing career. 

Source: American Profile. 

When she was 16, Patrick decided to advance her racing career. She quit high school and moved to England to receive training for open-wheel racing.

She trained and raced there for three years, before eventually returning to the United States and getting signed to the Rahal Letterman Racing team. It was the start of her professional racing career in the United States.

Source: Rockford Register Star 

Patrick very quickly made a name for herself in the racing world: she was named one of TIME magazine’s Most Influential People in 2010, and became the only woman to win an IndyCar race in 2008 in Motegi, Japan.

Patrick was also the first woman to ever lead laps at both the Daytona 500 and the Indianapolis 500 races.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider